The Antonio Guiteras Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTE), the largest unitary block in the country, synchronized on Friday night with the National Electric System (SEN) after 10 days out of circulation due to a break in the boiler, reported from Matanzas the journalist José Miguel Solís.
According to the report, the Guiteras synchronized around 10:30 p.m. this Friday, and shortly after midnight it presented stable parameters in the turbine, although the engineer Rubén Campos, general director of the unit, asked for caution in the face of the dangers. that frequently appear at the start.
“Generating with more power is a process that is not exempt from risks,” said the director of Guiteras, who during the early morning managed to raise its generation levels to 230 megawatts (MW).
The Guiteras went offline of the SEN on June 6 due to problems in the boiler, just when the 72-hour evaluation of the maintenance work carried out in the unit for more than three months between the end of February and the beginning of June was about to end.
If it manages to maintain online stability, the synchronization of Guiteras could be a relief for the SEN, which in recent days has not been able to meet demand. This Friday, for example, there were effects on the electricity service throughout the day in Cuba, with a peak deficit of 995 MW at 7:30 at night.
On the morning of this Saturday (07:00 hours), according to the part issued by the Unión Eléctrica (UNE), the SEN had an availability of 2,478 MW and the demand was 2,400. For the daytime hours, an affectation of 50 MW is expected, but in the hours of maximum demand the deficit will increase again.
According to Lázaro Guerra, technical director of the UNE, during peak hours there will be an availability of 2,681 MW and a demand of 3,150 MW, for a deficit of 469 MW. According to his explanation on national television, if the foreseen conditions are maintained, the affectation to the service due to a deficit will be 539 MW at that time.
For the moment of maximum demand, the recovery of 100 MW that are out of service due to fuel is expected; as well as the entry of 165 MW in diesel engines. The SEN cannot count on unit 2 of the CTE Felton, in Holguín, and units 1 and 2 of the CTE Santa Cruz, in Mayabeque, all out of circulation due to breakdowns. In addition, unit 5 of Nuevitas and unit 6 of CTE Renté are under maintenance.
Cuba’s electrical network is going through a precarious situation with failures and breakages in several of its eight terrestrial thermoelectric plants, most of them with many years of use, the lack of investment and the fuel deficit.
Cuban plants have been in operation for more than 30 years and produce 40% of the electricity consumed nationally, according to official data.
The Cuban government leased several floating power plants to a Turkish company to address the lack of generation capacity.
It also scheduled maintenance tasks in the first months of the year so that the generating plants remain in optimal conditions for the summer months of July and August.
With information from EFE
